Echoes of Glory: Part 3
by TMHB77
Summary: 10 years after the defeat of the dark master, a new enemy rises from the dragon race itself, threatening to destroy everything Spyro holds dear in the process.he must lead the outnumbered U.D.A. forces against the radical 'empire of fire'. WILL REWRITE.
1. Chapter 1 The Bleak Future

**CHAPTER 1- THE BLEAK FUTURE.**

Scarecrows. That was the codename given to Sky's squadron of elite commandos. In the years after the plutonian campaign, the newly formed United Draconic Alliance had formed his squadron out of necessity. Along with the other six they created using only the most valiant and competent warriors in all the realms. Sky lead his squad through the thick jungle and Blaze spoke up.

"Sarge, what exactly are we looking for?"

"According to your dad, 'any threat to the security of the U.D.A.' I have no idea what qualifies as a threat however. God forbid we get a competent briefing before we get sent to places like this."

"Ey sarge! There's some dead guys ova heh!"

"where Griffon?" Sky stopped and walked over to where he was pointing and sure enough, about six or so UDA soldiers were laying in the entrance to a trail. They had been there for a few days in the jungle heat. It smelled terrible to say the least.

"They look like paratroopers, 68th division I'd say. Well get started. Get some holes for these males, we'll bury them right. We owe them that at least."

They dug the graves for the fallen and took their dog tags, putting them in their graves and marking them with the rifle bayonet stuck in the dirt and the flak helmets on them.

"Looks like a machine gun nest sarge. I think we should go around it."

"You don't get paid to think Griffon. We're not going around it."

"Why not?" Blaze asked

"What would you rather do? Have us leave it here for the next poor bastards to get killed? We're taking it out."

"What about calling in an air strike?"

"The air force isn't gonna waste ordinance on one machine gun."

"There is good cover all over the trail. Just keep your head down and watch for land mines. Let's do this." All of the squad simultaneously began firing and moved behind the barriers closest to them.

Gunfire rattled overhead and explosions rattled the earth below as sky's special operations squad hid cover in the dense jungle of a distant realm. Sky, was instructing them as to their next course of action.

"Scarecrows! We can't stay here! Get out of my ass, and move up that trail!" he shouted as he reloaded his M16.

"You heard sarge! Lets go kick some ass!" Blaze said running to advance on their attackers, dodging grenades as he went and looking back occasionally to see if the others were still behind him, and still in one piece.

Sky was still behind the barrier, trying to fix the jam in his weapon.

"Fuck! Human technology is an ounce of help and a pound of trouble!" he said to himself, throwing the weapon to the ground and drawing his small automatic submachine gun, the MP5.

He laid down suppressive fire and moved forward until he found sufficient cover next to codename 'Python', his squad's demolitions expert.

"What's the count?" he shouted as a mortar exploded right in front of the large fallen tree they hid behind.

"We got two of them on the machine gun, and we got a sniper on the top of the pillbox, and two spotters calling in these damn mortars!"

Sky used hand signals, he told Blaze and codename 'Griffon' to flank right while he and Python flanked left. They acted swiftly, moving from blast crater to crater, firing on the machine gunners, killing one.

They reached the pill box and Sky released a burst of bullets, killing the two spotters and using a grenade to clear the rest of the bunker.

The machine gun fell silent as the rest of his squad rejoined him on the hill.

"Bring the survivors over here if you find any." Sky said, resting on a wall of sandbags.

They searched the bunker for any Intel they could find.

"I got a survivah here sarge!" Griffon said dragging him over to Sky.

"Good job Griffon." Sky said looking down at the wounded fighter with the utmost disdain.

"You…cant…beat…all…of…us…" he gasped, blood pouring out of his wounds.

"I don't plan on beating you. I plan on killing you. Your so called 'revolution' will be crushed. And I will kill Xavier with my bare hands. Blaze take care of this guy and let's go."

Blaze pulled out his sidearm hesitated for a split second, then shot the wounded in the forehead.

Sky noticed this and addressed his soldiers.

"Guys, it's not going to get any easier."

He pulled out a piece of paper from his camo uniform pocket and read it aloud

"TO ALL SQUAD LEADERS, YOU ARE TO INTERROGATE ANY POWS YOU FIND. ONCE ALL USEFUL INFORMATION HAS BEEN OBTAINED, TERMINATE THEM IMMEDIATELY.

Those orders were straight from the supreme commander himself, commandant Spyro. It was easy killing gnorcs and rynocs wasn't it? They didn't look like us…but these are dragons. Are own kind…and we have to kill them before they kill us."

While they were listening to their sergeant, another sniper in the bell tower of a temple nearby lined up his shot. Sky was lined up in his crosshairs, since he had singled himself out by addressing the squad. The sniper took a deep breath, closed one eye, and squeezed the trigger.

His shot rang out through the jungle, and his squad watched in horror as Sky fell to his knees and then onto the ground.

"SNIPER!" Griffon yelled

"I GOT HIM!" Blaze said as he used his grenade launcher on his M16 to blow the sniper away.

The other four members of his squad dove for cover, but came out seeing Sky's condition.

They then crowded around their fallen leader.

'It can't end here…I wont die here…I've got to kill Xavier…' he thought as his vision began to blur. He heard the voices of his teammates before he blacked out, possibly forever.

"Hang on sarge! You ain't dying here!"

_Flashback_

_Sky had moved out of Spyro's cave and into his own with his mate Emerald. She was perfect for him, keeping his reckless streak in check most of the time. His nickname was scarface, for his scar that went from above his right eyebrow to the right corner of his mouth, but no one dared call him that while he was around. He had finally got unpacked and he stood at its entrance, he was lucky enough to get a coveted place on a cliff overlooking the whole dragon village, the only way to get to it was by flight. Emerald approached him and hugged him from behind._

"_Well…we're done. Come inside and relax."_

"_I can't…" Sky said sadly. Emerald knew why he couldn't. One of his squad members had been captured by Ghastly gnorc's forces, tortured for days, then killed. Sure, they had their revenge, they delivered Ghastly's head on a platter to Ignitus, but he still couldn't get over private Gino's death. He was the squad leader, it was his job to keep them safe, and to let one get captured, tortured and killed was utter failure in his mind._

"_It wasn't you're fault Sky. There wasn't anything you could've done. He got lost, and wandered into them."_

_Sky was silent as he stared into the setting sun over the hills. His silent, impenetrable demeanor was what Emerald hated the most._

"_Don't shut me out Sky… I want to help"_

_He was trained to show no emotion, to kill without remorse and do the unthinkable, should it need to be done._

"_What happened to the Sky I knew? The carefree boy who always wanted to have fun and who…"_

_Her voice trailed off as a tear formed in her eyes._

"_I still love you Emerald, but the kid I was is dead, this is who I am now, this is who I have to be."_

_She ran into the cave in tears and he just stood where he was, still emotionless. He would have to leave for another mission in a few hours. He decided to leave early, not saying a word to his mate._

_End flashback._

He couldn't feel his left arm. The bullet had entered his left shoulder, missing a major artery by inches. Sky could feel the blood pooling behind his head and neck.

'Damn guns…humans make combat so impersonal…'

"MEDIC!!" he heard as his vision faded even more, the distant sound of a helicopter fast approaching.

His last thought before slipping into darkness:

"How…how could this have happened? I'm sorry Emerald…I…love…you…"


	2. Chapter 2 The Realms Divided

**CHAPTER- 2- THE REALMS DIVIDED **

Spyro lay silently in bed with Ember reading strategy books and analyzing maps by candlelight for his new position as supreme allied commander.

"Spyro it's late…are you gonna go to bed soon?" Ember asked

"Sorry baby, I know I stay up late. Let's get some sleep." He said blowing out the candle and putting his arms around Ember. Cynder was in another room of the cave sound asleep.

It has been ten years since Crypto stayed behind in plutonia to make sure the dark master didn't escape to threaten the peace of the realms. But now, there was a new threat to the peace. Not one of evil, one of gnorc or rynoc or any other invading force. This threat was from within. Within the ten years that had passed, a new trade partner had opened up; their technology had finally enabled them to open portals. Humans were willing to trade resources to the dragon realms in exchange for the gems that populate the realms. The gems were found to contain 1000 times the potential energy of plutonium when placed in the core of a nuclear reactor. The main thing they gave to the dragon realms was hardware. Military hardware to be exact. Ignitus was the leader of the congress of elders, and he had seen what the human realms were like. Constant warring, death and destruction, disease and famine. Ignitus placed tough constraints on weapons trade, wanting to preserve the purity of the realms. No humans were allowed to set foot in the realm unless specially authorized, under penalty of immediate death. It was not just Ignitus who wanted the restrictions. The four original elders consulted the oracle, and it gave them insight as to the tariffs. Terrador, Cyril and Voltier all backed Ignitus in his support of the proposed trade limits. The decision to restrict trade of weapons was called to a vote. The limit passed by four votes, the most controversial thing to happen since the congresses creation. This new law split the elders right down the middle. The ones who wanted to keep the tradition and purity of the dragon realms, and those who wanted to embrace human technology and ideals. The leader of the pro human movement was a relatively young dragon named Xavier. His fiery rhetoric inspired many to his side as he gathered supporters.

The vote had taken place a week ago and tomorrow was a special day for Spyro. He would meet with the professor early in the morning at his lab. He had told him that he may have verified that the portal to plutonia had collapsed, not the whole realm, meaning that if the professor could get enough energy, he may be able to reopen it for long enough to send him in to see if Crypto was still alive, and if he was, finally set him free from the realm in which he was trapped.

Spyro woke early the next morning, before the sun rose, and flew over to the professor's lab.

"Spyro! Come in! come in!" the mole said, now even slower than before due to his advanced age.

Spyro stepped in and looked at the large platform with four laser gun looking devices aimed at a singular point.

"Ok Spyro, the portal can only stay open for thirty minutes, so if you find him alive, get him out. If he is dead, don't grieve, just get out of there…if he is dead then the dark master is alive. Under no circumstances are you to fight the dark master. Understand?"

"Yea I got it. Now power this thing up!"

The professor flipped switches and pressed buttons until the laser guns fired on a concentrated particle, creating a familiar portal.

"Okay Spyro, go find him!" he yelled over the loud humming of the machine. Spyro nodded and stepped through it, just like he had ten years before.

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Cynder awoke from her bed to find, to her surprise, someone beside her. She sat up sleepily and rubbed her eyes. She looked at the dragon beside her, and her eyes widened. It was flame. He began to stir and came to the same shocking conclusion.

"Oh…my…god…" Cynder said still in disbelief.

"Flame…we…did we…"

Flame was shocked. Had they mated? He was not only shocked, but scared. Infidelity was punishable by death for both of them. And Crypto, should he ever return, would be the executioner. And it would all be perfectly legal. They would be reported to the elders, they would have both of them arrested, and then they would be taken to the center of dragon village, where they would be publicly executed.

"Cynder…we can't tell anyone about this. We'd both be in mortal danger."

"I know the law!" she said nervously.

'Oh my god…I was faithful for 10 years and I blow it all for one night I don't even remember?! This must be what it feels like to be a whore…' she thought, disappointed in herself. After all, it was she who asked that Cryptos name be left off the memorial wall of the fallen in the plutonian campaign, believing he was still alive.

"You need to get out of here before spyro or ember wakes up. Spyro might report this in crypto's absence!" Cynder said.

Flame left immediately and tip toed out of the cave where only ember had slept. He got out of the cave and took to the sky. 'Spyro wasn't there. What if he saw me with Cynder? Oh god I'd be finished! I would never sleep with Cynder… I don't even remember doing it! Crypto is my friend, what would posses me to do that? What would posses her to do that?' this and many other questions raced through Flames mind as he flew.

'Ok just breathe…there has to be a reasonable explanation for this…I don't think I would sleep with Cynder…it's just not right!' he thought

'I can't tell anyone…ever…I don't know if we did anything or not, but I woke up in her bed…god I'm so confused.' He thought, flying back to his house.

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Spyro was transported to the realm he had fought for all those years ago. The landscape had changed; it seemed more…ironic, more…polarized.

Spyro walked slowly through the place he had last seen his friend. He saw his crystal sword, still as shiny as he remembered it. What was strange about it, was its placement…it was sticking out of the ribcage of a pile of dragon bones. At first, Spyro thought the unthinkable…Crypto had died, and the dark master still roamed free, but then he noticed the tail. It wasn't the trident shape characteristic of plutonian dragons, it was in the shape of the upside down pentagram.

"He did it…he killed the bastard!" Spyro said to himself

"Well…it looks like he's been here for a while…now I have a whole realm to search."

He walked across the silent battlefield, stepping over the shattered armor, both gnorc and dragon. The bones of the fallen warriors littered the area as far as the eye could see. Where the bones now lay, flowers and green grass grew in between them, and the blue, cloudless sky, gave a misleading sentiment to the history of this place. Then Spyro came upon the large blast crater that sky created when he used the plutonian dawn attack. The heat was so intense that the sand beneath the dirt was melted down into glass, creating a glass crater. The quiet was all encompassing, no wind, no birds, and no other living things at all. Just eerie, enveloping silence.

Spyro wasn't watching where he was walking and tripped over a dragon skull, causing him to fall into a pile of bones. When he opened his eyes, he was back in the thick of battle. He saw it all, the bloodshed, the fighting, the brutality of war…then he spotted himself above the fray, fighting his best friend to the death. Last time, he was above it all, this time, he was in the middle of it. He closed his eyes and ran blindly away from the sights, sounds and smells that seemed so real. The smell of burning flesh, the screams of the dying and wounded, the sight of countless dragons and gnorcs cut down with the utmost hatred for each other.

He ran until he tripped himself up, and tumbled down a hill coming to rest on a sandy plutonian shore. He looked around…'was it all a dream? What was that?' he asked himself brushing the sand off his scales. He looked down and noticed a set of dragon footprints leading into a cave on the beach. He followed them into its dark recesses. It was pitch black inside and small bones littered the cave floor, crunching under Spyro's feet as he walked.

"Crypto? You in here?" Spyro called into the echoing darkness.

Without warning, he saw a glint of gold in the shape of a trident connect with his chest, sending him flying out of the cave and sprawled onto the sandy beach.

"How do you know my name? Who the hell are you?" Crypto said standing over him with his trademark glowing palm in his face.

"Its Spyro! You know! We grew up together!" Spyro said, barely controlling his excitement to have finally found his friend after 10 years.

"I don't know anybody named Spyro. And what are you even doing here? I am the only dragon in this realm, and there can only be one!"

Spyro quickly moved his head just in time to dodge the energy blast intended for his face and got to his feet.

"Crypto you've got to remember! We live together in a cave outside of dragon village! Our grade school teacher was Ms. Silverhorn! You died in a dungeon and were resurrected by the dark master only to turn down the chance to live with us to make sure he never came back! You have a mate that loves you as well as son who does the same! How could you forget all that?"

Crypto stopped attacking…he was now stronger than he was when he was last seen, mainly because when you're trapped in a realm with no other creatures except the underground variety, what else is there to do but work out?

Then it all came back to him…his repressed memories flooded his brain all at once. He then recognized the dragon before him.

"Sp…Spyro…you came back here for me?"

"Of course I did! I wasn't gonna just leave you trapped in here!"

"Why did it take you so long?"

"Talk to the professor, he knows the technical stuff. Speaking of which, we need to get back to our realm before the portal closes and we're both stuck here."

"Right. Lead the way."

While walking, Crypto recanted his years in this realm, how he survived, and how he killed the dark master.

"Ok so there I was, the portal had closed, and it was just me and him. He was looking all evil with his glowing dark energy around him, and I was glowing gold in what was left of the armor I had on. He went into this monologue about how 'I can't hope to win…my friends had abandoned me…he was more powerful than I could imagine blah blah. As he was rambling on, I noticed your sword on the ground. I slowly picked it up and held it over my head. He was actually talking to me with his eyes closed! How dumb was this guy?! I just raised the sword over my head, and cut off his right arm, then his left, and then I ran it right through his heart. Kind of anticlimactic huh? Anyway, there were some cool lighting bolts and stuff, then, his scales, muscles and blood just seemed to melt off one after the other until he was nothing but bones. Of all the deaths I've witnessed, his was by far the coolest."

By the time he was done, they had reached the spot where the portal was.

"Ready?" Spyro asked

"…yea…let's go…"

They stepped through the portal, and flew through the space time hole and back into their beloved home.

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Ignitus paced in his chamber, trying to think of a way to convince the congress to ban trade on human weapons. His decision came on the heels of two young dragons getting killed by accident with these things. They had been playing in their parents cave and had found the fathers automatic rifle. He was a member of one of the seven special operations groups. They had seen their father training with it. It was left in reach of the young ones, and they grabbed it and began playing 'soldier'. Before the day was over, two were shot dead and the third was being mentally evaluated to see if he was stable or not.

"That damn Xavier is my biggest opponent…I don't know how I'm going to convince him…"

Voltier entered his chamber.

"Ignitus the congress is assembled. They await your presence."

"Very well."

Ignitus walked into the main chamber and took his place in the center of the room.

"My brothers…I have a new proposal…I must request that we ban the sale and trade of all human weapons in the dragon realms." The floor was alive with quiet conversations.

"Is he crazy? He can't ban these weapons!"

"He is a saint! We must preserve the purity of the realms."

"We need guns to defend ourselves!"

Ignitus continued

"These weapons have turned a once peaceful human realm into a place of constant chaos and death. I don't ever want to see our realms this way. Furthermore, it is imperative that we-"

"Why should we ban them? They are the future and I say we need to embrace it!" Xavier stood up and continued

"Human technology is a vital part of my, and many other realms economy. We can't let old dragons afraid of change hold our race back from our true potential! Dragons are the ultimate species, and we are destined to control not only our realm, but all of them!" half of the chambers elders stood up and cheered, applauding his words.

Ignitus was still speechless as Xavier continues his rant

"For too long, dragons have been on defense! For too long, dragons have been the victims of inferior species like the disgusting gnorc!"

Terrador finally spoke up

"Xavier! How dare you disrespect the leader of the congress you arrogant punk!"

"Silence old dragon! You are holding our entire species back! You and your traditionalist values are the bane of our existence! And now I call for all who embrace technology, all who want a better world for their children, all who want a universe where dragons reign supreme, to rally behind me!"

The chamber exploded in applause as about half of the representatives voiced their support.

"Think about what you are saying Xavier! Your words verge on treason!" Ignitus said over the noise.

"Call it what you will, but it is I who will lead our race to a brighter tomorrow! If you aren't with me, you're against me! If this congress will not support us, then we resign!"

Again, cheers of approval rang out through the hallways. "Viva la revolucion!" (Don't know why dragons would chant in Spanish, but…)

With that, the opposing representatives returned to their realms filled with revolutionary fervor.

Ignitus and the four original elders were left with the less than half of the elders left with them, still loyal.

"What just happened?" Cyril asked, entering the chamber after hearing all the commotion.

"I must go to the oracle…if action isn't taken soon; the dragon race could split right down the middle. I fear a civil war may not be too far off if nothing is done to reunite the torn realms."

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Ok...so yea sorry about the wait on my other story, but i'm pretty much stuck right now...if you got ideas for it i'm all ears.(or eyes as the case may be)


	3. Chapter 3 Empire Of Fire

**CHAPTER-3 EMPIRE OF FIRE**

Ignitus waited for the golden doors of the oracles chamber to open to him, the many questions he needed to ask weighed heavily on his mind.

The light flooded out of the room as he entered. He approached the altar of the oracle and knelt as expected.

"Wise and holy oracle, I, your humble servant am in need of your wisdom."

There was silence for longer than normal.

"Yes my child. I know you seek guidance; however, I have no words for your unfortunate circumstances. But know this. There will be blood."

"Can you clarify holy one?"

The oracle fell silent.

Ignitus took his leave, and was confronted by the other three elders.

"Well? What wisdom did the oracle bestow?" Voltier asked.

"The oracle was silent…"

"What? The oracle is never sile-"

"The only thing it said was this: 'there will be blood.'"

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"I can't believe it...I'm... home..."

"Believe it. Now lets go find the others, I'm sure they'll be surprised to say the least." Spyro said as they stepped out of the professors lab.

"Does Cynder still live with you guys?" Crypto asked

"Sure does. She has been waiting for you to come back to her."

They spread their massive adult wings and took to the air.

"So...anything special happen while I've been gone?"

"Hmmm...Where should I start? Ok. After you stayed behind, the elders declared victory for all dragons. To keep this from happening again, the elders of all the realms banded together to for a way to manage the threats to our species as they appear. They called it the United Draconic Alliance or UDA for short."

"Sounds good I guess...so do we have a military now or what?"

"We have seven elite special operations squadrons, one of which, your son leads, and then we have the standing army and air force."

"Sky's a fighter like his dad. Whats Blaze and Saph up to these days?"

"Blaze is in the same squad as Sky, and Sapphire is a healer in the medical division."

"Cool...how about you? What has my old buddy Spyro been doing while I was gone?"

"I am the supreme allied commander of all the armed forces. Yea, I'm that important."

"Very nice. Bet that job is as fun to do as it is to say."

"Not unless we're at war."

"Are we?"

"No. Follow me, I want to show you something." Spyro descended and Crypto followed, landing in front of a wall that was plated with gold, with thousands of names carved on it.

"Wow. Want to explain what we got here?"

"It's the memorial to all those who died in the plutonian campaign. Your names not on it, that was Cynders idea because you weren't dead."

"Even if I was dead, I wouldn't deserve a place on this wall...this whole war, all these deaths, are my fault...if I had been stronger, I could've resisted him until the professor found a way to-"

"Stop talking like that! This war wasn't your fault! If he hadn't used you, he'd have tried for me! And since you were already dead, no one would have lead the army to victory over the dark master. It's been ten years Crypto... we've forgiven you. Now forgive yourself."

Crypto held his head down and wiped something from his eye.

"I...guess...you're right Spyro."

"I know I'm right. C'mon, there is something else I want to show you."

They flew to the dojo and entered the congressional chamber, only to find about 1/3 of the total representatives still here.

"Crypto! Welcome back! It's been so long my son!" Ignitus said as he walked toward the two of them.

"Nice to see you too Ignitus. Oh yea...don't worry about the dark master anymore...I took care of him." Crypto said in a mockingly humble tone.

"He's gone for good?"

"Yea, gone forever."

"That's good; I don't need anything else to worry about right now."

"Why? Whats been going on here?" Spyro asked

"That damn young upstart Xavier. He has over 2/3 of the delegates behind him. He's threatening to break away from the UDA with his supporters and form what he calls, a new draconic empire, unless we allow the open sale and trade of human weapons."

"What are 'humans'?" Crypto asked

Spyro and Ignitus looked at him like he was stupid.

"Hey I was trapped in a realm by myself for ten years. I think you could cut me some slack."

"Right, sometimes I forget. Anyway they are a realm that opened up just after you left. They were willing to trade us weapons for the gems around the realms. They use them for power or something. But I didn't want the proliferation of these deadly weapons to get into the wrong hands, so congress and I put a restriction on buying them. Some of them didn't like this idea. Xavier to be exact. He soon gained more supporters and today, he led his followers out of here, threatening to resign if I didn't lift the ban." Ignitus explained

"So what. If it's just him quitting who cares."

"It's not just him. His supporters are threatening to resign as well. They talk of a revolution, of the formation of a 'new draconic union', embracing human technological ideas and values. Things like cloning, genetic manipulation…human morals keep stuff like that under control in their realm, but Xavier has no such morals, whatever it takes, is his motto."

"Well, it seems obvious doesn't it?" Crypto said

"What?" Spyro asked

"What we have to do. We have to find this guy and kill him. Sheesh Spyro has it been that long?"

"It's not that simple anymore. He's in his own realm with his own defense force of 20,000. If we attack him, his supporters will help him…then all we'd have is a really bloody mess."

"Damn…I miss the days when you fought the villain, killed him or her, then everything went back to normal."

"Me too. Good luck with this Ignitus, we have people to see." Spyro said turning to leave.

They flew back to their cave and found Ember and Cynder eating breakfast in the den.

"I'm back baby!" Crypto said sneaking up behind her and hugging her.

"Oh my god! I knew you weren't dead!" she kissed him and stayed in his strong arms for as long as possible. His secure hugs were one of the things she'd missed the most about him, and he was stronger than she remembered, and bigger.

"Did you get bigger or something?" she asked

"Did you get smaller?" he joked hugging her as close as possible without crushing her.

"Yea I did. When you get stuck somewhere for 10 years, there isn't much to do but work out."

"You could learn from him Spyro." Ember said in a I'm-joking-but-seriously tone

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Just saying that you aren't exactly your, 'former self' anymore."

"Sorry, but I don't get sent to exotic places to fight evil anymore…Crypto…guys like us are being phased out…"

"Like hell I am. Long as that prophecy is telling the truth, we protect the realms to the end. The real end. Not coming back to life. I'll stop now."

Cynder couldn't take the uncertainty. How could she know if her and Flame did anything? Maybe he somehow found his way to the cave and didn't see her and just feel asleep. Or maybe they had sex all night. Either could've happened but she had to know for sure.

'I bet the professor could tell somehow. I'll go see him later tonight.' She thought, listening to her mates heartbeat with her head on his chest.

"Well…let's go see the kids; I think Sky and Blaze are on leave this week."

With that, they left the cave and arrived at the military base at which their children were stationed. The soldiers dropped what they were doing and held a solute to Spyro until he was out of sight.

"This is the kind of respect I get now. Jealous?" Spyro said turning to his friend  
"of what? So a bunch of guys raise their hands when you walk by. Big deal. Where are the guys who will jump off a cliff at your command? Find those guys, and then I'll be impressed." Crypto smiled back.

"DAD!" a voice called out from behind them.  
It was Sapphire, she had grown into one of the more beautiful female dragons in the realms, and was quite sought after by the males, but she has maintained her purity, through all of them. Mainly due to the fact that every time she would introduce one of her potential mates to Sky, he would scare them into leaving. Scaring Sapphires boyfriends was pretty funny to Sky, but not so much to her.

"Hey Saph! How have you been sweetheart?" Spyro asked, returning his daughters embrace.

"Pretty good. Being one of the few healers' sucks. I'm always so busy!"  
After greeting everyone she led them to where she believed Sky and Blaze were.

"These are the barracks. They are right inside." She stopped at the door.

"Aren't you coming in?" Crypto asked

"Heck no! that's the males barracks. That whole building should be quarantined."

"I think we'll stay out here too." Cynder said and Ember nodded.

Spyro and Crypto opened the door and were immediately taken aback by the strong smell of…male.

"wow…she wasn't kidding." He said as they entered the barracks and all the soldiers stopped what they were doing and saluted.

"At ease men." Spyro said

"Geez is there enough porn in here?" Crypto asked half laughing.

"Sky, Blaze, front and center!" Spyro commanded

They both stood in front of them.

"Follow me."

The four of them walked outside and Blaze greeted his dad, but Sky and Crypto just stood there, looking at each other.

"You're back?"

"Duh. I'm here aren't I?"

Sky turned to Spyro and said.

"Was he always such a smartass?"

"Yes. The sooner you accept that, the better you two will get along." Spyro said.

"Well it was good seeing you. Blaze, I'm going back inside."

He left without a look back.

"What the hell?" Crypto asked

"Don't worry about him Crypto, he'll come around. He's still upset about you staying behind in the plutonian realm."

"What?! I did that to save his ass! Why is he mad at me for saving everyone from the dark master?

"Don't worry about it; a lot has changed with him since you've been gone. His military training has changed him." Snow said

"I'll see what's up with him." Blaze said as he went into the barracks after his friend.

"Well I've seen enough, can we go now?" Crypto said.

"Yea let's get out of here." Spyro said as they took off back toward their cave.

When they got back, they found Ignitus waiting for them.

"What are you doing here Ignitus? Something wrong?"

"Yes there is. The other elders and I stood firm and refused to lift the ban on weapons sales and trade…and Xavier and the rest of his supporters resigned, and formed a new draconic nation…the Empire of Fire."

There was silence as Spyro had never seen Ignitus as distraught as he was.

"What does all of that mean?" Crypto said breaking the awkward silence.

"It means that Xavier will soon consolidate his power, and might even declare war on us if he feels he is capable…but right now, nothing is certain."

"Did you consult the oracle?" Spyro asked.

Ignitus looked up at them with uncertainty and a hint of fear in his eyes and said

"Yes…it said…there will be blood…"


	4. Chapter 4 The First Shot Fired

**CHAPTER 4- THE FIRST SHOT FIRED**

The stress on everyone in what was left of the United Dragon Alliance was increasing with every passing month. The Empire of Fire was consolidating their power under the despotic leadership of their master and commander, Xavier. Rumors of the extermination of entire gnorc and rynoc villages circulated throughout the realms, but were unconfirmed. The Empire of Fire was importing more and more weapons every day, which caused the U.D.A to buy more as well. An arms race like had never been seen before was well under way.

The tensions between the two powers grew every day, and troop movements showed armies assembling at portals leading to neighboring realms. The U.D.A had stopped all trade with the realms that became the empire of fire, in an attempt to choke off the flow of gems, since the U.D.A realms had a more generous supply of them than Xavier's realms did. This strategy was flawed however, because the empire of fire had weapons stockpiled years in advance. The war was imminent; all that was missing was the spark to set it all off.

"Ignitus, commander spyro is on video line 3."

"Thank you put him through."

Ignitus was on his private jet on his way to negotiate an end to the arms race that was taking both empires economies into the ground.

"Ignitus, I've got a bad feeling about this whole thing. You are going into HIS realm and you will be playing by HIS rules. You're in control of very little, and I don't like it."

"Don't worry Spyro, I will be fine. Xavier is a radical extremist, but he isn't crazy."

"Whatever you say, Crypto and I are monitoring your jets radar signature."

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The holo-screen disappeared and Spyro turned to Crypto who was leaning back in his chair as far as it would allow.

"I will never understand why you worry so much. Ignitus has forgotten more about combat and fighting than we will ever learn, I think he can take care of himself. He's even got two of our best pilots as escorts."

"Yeah, yeah, just keep watching that radar until he lands back here." Spyro said as he left.

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Xavier was sitting in an underground bunker in what appeared to be a control tower type of room. A large screen in front of him displayed a radar signature of two escort fighters and one jet aircraft, this was Ignitus' convoy.

Xavier laughed quietly to himself and opened a link to Ignitus, and his face appeared in front of him. His dark red scales and black spikes shown dull in the low light.

"Ignitus, what brings you to my empire?" he asked arrogantly

"Don't play dumb with me Xavier. I'm here to negotiate an end to the arms race that could lead to the end of us all."

"I don't think there will be any negotiations today my friend…" Xavier said as two missiles streaked across the sky and took Ignitus' escorts by complete surprise, destroying them.

"Xavier you treacherous scum! This was a peaceful mission! I have no weapons-"

"Tell your pilot to follow my fighters to a secret airbase they will lead you to, or you will join your escorts."

Ignitus had no choice; he couldn't risk creating a power vacuum in his realm.

"Fine, but these actions won't go unpunished."

"I know. That is what I'm counting on."

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"Uh Spyro! Get in here! Ignitus' escort fighters have just been shot down and I've lost him on radar." Crypto yelled down the hallway.

Spyro burst into the room and tried to get a link to his jet, but to no avail.

"I knew Xavier couldn't be trusted!" Spyro said.

"What the hell do we do now? Without Ignitus, who is in charge?"

"The other elders will figure that out… but for now… we wait until Xavier comes to us."

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Ignitus got off the plane and was immediately taken to a prison cell and was kept under armed guard for three days until he got his first visitor.

"Hello Ignitus."

He recognized that voice, Xavier.

"What do you want with me Xavier? What could you possibly hope to gain by holding me here?"

"That is very simple my friend…come with me"

He put up a good fight when the guards entered the cell, killing both of them. He attacked Xavier only to be stopped by his magic.

"No no…can't have anymore of that can we?" he grinned as he made Ignitus walk under his spell. The went down an endless number of turns, and hallways until they came to a small room, with one light, a chair, and a video camera.

Xavier commanded Ignitus to sit and when he did, black magic bands wrapped themselves around him, tying him down.

"Ignitus, this video camera is linked directly to your home realm of avalar. I need you to do one thing for me. Tell them to surrender, and join my empire. That's all. If you do that, you can go free."

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"Spyro we got video coming in from an unknown source inside the empire, I'll put it on the big screen…"

It was as they had feared; Ignitus had been captured by Xavier. The three remaining elders, Spyro and Crypto were all speechless.

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"Well…what's it gonna be?" Xavier asked

Ignitus looked him square in the eye and answered

"Never."

Xavier simply smiled and said

"You could have saved thousands of lives if you had simply joined me, now looks like I will have to acquire your lands the hard way."

Xavier grabbed a guard's pistol and held it to Ignitus' head.

"Last chance. Tell them to surrender."

Ignitus knew what was coming now…he just hoped the other elders were prepared for it.

"They will never surrender to you."

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They all heard him loud and clear. No surrender. And with that, they all watched helplessly as a voice from off camera said

"This was your choice Ignitus. Kill him."

The red dots of the laser pointers on the gun barrels focused in various places on their leader.

The sound of gunfire was deafening as Ignitus jerked and fell backwards out of the chair, his body riddled with bullets.

"NO! Damn him! I will defeat him I swear it!" Spyro yelled as he pounded his fist on the console, making a sizeable dent in the steel, and while holding back a tear. Ignitus had been like a father to him, and Crypto, since he had taught them everything they knew about fighting, and life.

"I…can't believe he's gone…"Crypto was stunned still.

They all left the room except for Spyro, who stayed, wondering what he could do now. He felt helpless without the reassurance of Ignitus being right behind him in everything he did. He was always there to correct a mistake, to catch either of them when they fell…and now he had been taken from him…by the murderous Xavier…

'I will make him pay…ten fold' he thought as he finally left the room after hours of reflection.

Xavier's armies had made the first move, by encircling the capital of a neighboring realm near avalar. What puzzled Spyro and the rest of his staff was why they hadn't taken the city. His army just stood on the outside of it, not letting anyone enter or leave.

Xavier then contacted the elders and Spyro from a mountain top overlooking the village.

"Hello everyone. Glad you were able to join me up here." He said in his normal arrogant tone

"Cut the pleasantries Xavier, what do you want?"

"What do I want? Unconditional surrender. Join my empire, or this city and all of its inhabitants are going to have a very bad day."

'No way, no army has enough firepower to destroy a city of that size, especially not when all the soldiers in the realm have barricaded themselves in it.' Spyro thought

"You're full of it Xavier, no one has that kind of firepower."

Xavier smiled and said "so that's a no surrender?"

"We will never surrender." He replied

"That's what I thought. Humans, have that kind of firepower, as you will soon witness!"

He grabbed a field radio and gave the go ahead for the dropping of a single bomb.

They watched the screen as a bomber released its lone payload and it gently floated down toward the capital on its parachute.

'What is one bomb going to do?' Crypto thought as he watched it with the others on the screen.

Then, a blinding flash, and an enormous fireball rose hundreds of feet in the air as the shockwave could be seen destroying the structures that weren't already turned to dust by the initial blast. The cloud from the lone bomb formed an ominous mushroom as the attack was surprisingly familiar to Crypto and his son Sky.

"If you don't surrender, this is your fate! We will destroy your entire civilization!" Xavier shouted over the roar of the explosion.

"We will destroy you and your empire! You will not live to see the light of day Xavier!!" Spyro yelled as the E.M.P. from the nuclear attack fried the camera link.

Spyro turned to the elders and said

"We must act now. This cannot go unanswered…there were females and hatchlings in that city! He will pay dearly for his evil actions…take no prisoners…assemble our forces at the portals to his realms. This is his war…but we're gonna take it to him."

**ok, all my stories have been updated finally! sorry it took so long, but i had to decide what direction each was going to go in. **


	5. Chapter 5 The Only Hope

**CHAPTER 5- The Only Hope**

A slight rain began to fall as Xavier entered what was left of the city he had just annihilated.

He passed by his troops and they dropped what they where doing and rendered the empire of fire's open clawed salute, occasionally shouting "All hail Xavier!" as he passed.

He approached his field commander in his tent.

"Were there any survivors?" Xavier asked

"No Lord Xavier. The entire populous has been eliminated."

"Excellent. How long until we can secure another nuclear weapon?"

"The humans have halted sale of nuclear arms to our realm after they got word of our use of it."

Xavier's expression angered.

"What?! How can they cut us off? Did they not expect us to use them?"

"They claim that they sold us those merely for deterrence purposes."

"Grrr…this is that pest Spyro's doing…"

Xavier left the tent and stepped outside in the rain.

He laughed to himself and said.

"One realm down…" he turned and shouted to his soldiers

"Raise our flag! The day is ours! This is but one realm of many that will fall before our onslaught!"

His men cheered and began chanting 'Hail Xavier'.

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The inner chamber of Spyro's Intel room was darkened as he entered where the elders and his advisors were waiting for him. He took his seat at the head of the table and Cyril began to speak.

"Spyro, you have to realize that the sheer numbers of Xavier's more than double our own. With the recent downfall of our neighboring realm, we have a very slim chance of victory."

Spyro stood from his chair and said

"We have faced tougher odds before. Need I remind you all of our victory over the dark master when his army outnumbered ours three to one?"

Voltier stood and addressed his statement

"Commandant Spyro, surely you comprehend the obvious differences between the present and the past? Our forces were using only their natural weapons. These new human weapons have changed everything. Gone, are the days when it took one dragon to fight another…now, one dragon can kill many if he catches his opponents by surprise, and his aim is true."

Spyro was silent, looking around the room at the faces of his advisors.

"So what do you suggest we do now?" he asked

"We have convinced the humans to stop selling nuclear weapons to Xavier, so we don't have to worry about another attack like the one on Attica. (Capital of the realm that was attacked with a nuclear bomb.) We have enough forces for defense of our realm, but we have limited troop numbers for offense. If we were attacked now, we would most likely be able to hold them off for a few months."

"Then what are we supposed to do? Just wait for them to attack us? Why are our troop levels so low?" Spyro asked

"When the representatives that sided with Xavier left, they took all the dragons in our armed forces from their realms with them."

Terrador was the last to speak.

"Spyro, there is a legend…in the ancient temple, that tells of an almighty power, a weapon of such immense power, it can defeat any foe set against it. It has the capacity to destroy evil, and all that are aligned with evil…it is called, the Creator Stone, but unfortunately, no one knows where to find the temple it is hidden in, or weather its in this realm or not."

"What is it exactly?" Spyro asked

"No one knows what kind of weapon it is, the legend does not specify." Terrador said.

"So let me see if I have this right…we are under the threat of an impending attack from a merciless psychopath and all of our hopes for survival are banking on a legend of a mystical super weapon that may not exist, and even if I do manage to find it, and bring it back here, we don't even know how to use it. Is that what you're telling me?"

"Basically, yes." Cyril answered.

Spyro looked at the faces of all those in the room. They all had mates…some even had children to lookout for. Even if this was just a legend, this was their only hope to win against Xavier's hordes.

"Ok. Get me all the information we have on this thing. I want our top special operations team on this."

"That's going to be a problem sir…you see; according to legend, only the purple dragon can access the temple where the weapon is located." One of his advisors told him.

"Looks like its old times all over again." Spyro said with a mixture of nostalgia and sadness.

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Cynder flew to the professor's lab and entered.

"Professor, I need your help."

"Of course my dear! What do you need?"

Cynder blushed and stumbled over her words.

"Well…I need a way to know if I have been sexually…active with anyone recently…"

This puzzled the professor, prompting him to ask

"Cynder, wouldn't you know if you have been active with anyone?"

"That's the problem. You see, I woke up the day Crypto got back with Flame next to me in my bed, and neither of us can remember what happened the night before."

"Oh…well, that is a problem…for your sake, I hope it was nothing."

She followed the professor into a room in his lab with what looked like an MRI machine.

"Ok Cynder just lay down on this, and I'll do the rest."

The machine scanned her whole body and paper strips began pouring out of it.

He grabbed the first strip and examined it closely.

"Hmm…according to this…you were not sexually active with Flame the night Crypto returned!" the professor said happily.

A huge weight had been lifted of Cynders shoulders. But one question remained, how did Flame end up in her bed to begin with?

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Crypto walked down the hallway until he met his son Sky in the hallway.  
"Sky, I need to talk to you."

Sky stopped and squared off with his father

"What?"

Crypto gave sky a look only a father could give a son…the kind that meant the son was in trouble.  
"Why are you always so hostile towards me? I'm your dad for god's sake."

"You chose to leave me and mom…how could you do that?"

"I did it to save ALL of you from the dark master and his Evil Army! Do you think I wanted to miss you growing up!? Trust me, if there was another way to do it, I would have done it!"

Sky broke eye contact and looked at the floor.

"I don't know…I guess I was just mad at you because Blaze had a dad…and I didn't...I wanted to do all the things he did with his dad, with you, but you weren't there…Spyro was like a father to me, don't get me wrong…but he wasn't my dad." Sky looked back up into his fathers eyes.

The two battle hardened warriors, who had ended countless lives, hugged for the first time in ten years.

"Um…dad? This needs to be our secret. Because if word gets out that I hugged a guy, my reputation is shot." Sky said

"Yeah ok." They turned and walked in their own directions like nothing had ever happened, although a lot had.

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"Ok, so what do we have on this 'creator stone' thing?" Spyro asked Voltier

"All we know is that it is hidden somewhere inside an ancient temple in the…realm of the damned."

Spyro stopped walking and said

"Wait, realm of the what?"

"The realm of the damned Spyro. A place we, the elders, like those before us, have kept hidden for many hundreds of years."

Spyro was dumbstruck as Voltier continued

"You must use the utmost caution while there Spyro, many a brave warrior has entered that place, and never returned."

"Where is the entrance to this realm?" Spyro asked.

Voltier stopped at the entrance to the oracles chamber.

"In here."

They entered the room and knelt before the ball of energy.

"Wise and holy oracle, we humbly request that you open to us, the portal to that cursed realm of eternal torment."

"Why do you wish to do this?" it responded in its normal booming voice.

"The dragon of prophecy must retrieve the creator stone from the temple of the ages."

"Yes, I know of your quest young dragon. Your bravery will be rewarded, so long as you do not falter."

The room began to shake as the oracle rose from its podium and a bolt of black lightning opened a swirling grey portal that was sucking in anything not tied down.

"Go now Spyro! And make haste! We can't hold off Xavier's horde forever!" Voltier cried over the howling winds, as he watched sanity's last hope, step into a damned realm.


	6. Chapter 6 FEAR

CHAPTER 6- F.E.A.R.

Spyro was hurled out of this portal instead of the normal walking out.

He was thrown onto the ground on his chest and it slightly knocked the wind out of him.

The first thing he noticed about the realm was the silence…no noise…no life…no nothing. This realm seemed to be lit by an unseen sun at permanent twilight. The soil wasn't brown, or red like the dirt in his realm, it was grey, as was the sky. The surrounding terrain, the trees, the grassless dirt, and the randomly scattered boulders were all grey, and dead.

Spyro picked himself up off the unnaturally cold ground and looked around; he then heard Voltier's voice coming over his radio, with lots of static interference.

"Spyro…you mu…ind the temple…don't…let yo…head g…under the silver lakes…and…don…the damned…ite or scratch you!"

"Voltier! Voltier come in! useless…" he crushed the radio in his hand and began to walk aimlessly toward the permanent fog that enveloped the area, until he came across what appeared to be a lake filled with mercury. The surface of the liquid was reflective, and the lake seemed to go on for miles into the barely visible horizon.

Spyro walked to the liquids edge and saw his reflection. He picked up a rock off the ground and tossed it into the silvery lake, watching the ripples come back at him.

For some reason, spyro felt the urge to put his toe in the 'water'.

As soon as he did, a grey, cold claw grabbed his foot, and pulled him into the lake. He lost his footing and fell into the silvery liquid. It was so dense, it was impossible to stay afloat. Once under the surface, he saw grey creatures…they looked like dragons, except they had no color, their faces were blank except for the mouth…no eyes, no nose, no nothing except for a mouth. There were thousands under the lake of death.

Spyro struggled against the damned as they slowly pulled him under the surface.

His arm was the last thing out of the silver lake. After you have been completely submerged, you join the ranks of the soulless beasts that inhabit this realm.

'No…this cant be it…I can't die here!' he thought as he continued to fight a losing battle against the countless legions of the dead.

His hand was all that was above the water at this point. All seemed lost, but then Spyro saw a blue blur above the surface latch onto his hand and snatch him out of the water, much to the dismay of the damned. Spyro looked at his rescuer, as his vision cleared; he realized it was none other than…Crypto.

"Ha-ha Spyro you glory hog!" he said setting him down on shore.

"What…are…you…doing…here…" he gasped, catching his breath.

"You think I would pass up an opportunity to have one last old school adventure with my old buddy Spyro? Not a chance!" he said

"Thanks for the help back there."

"No problem. What would you do without me? I don't know how you made it so long while I was trapped in the plutonian realm…rookie mistake, by the way Spyro. You should never touch an unknown liquid! Day one stuff bro."

"Yeah, yeah, how did you get here anyway? The oracle only lets one dragon in this realm at a time."

"Hehe, not unless you know the oracles dirty little secret…" Crypto smiled devilishly

"And that would be?"

"He's got a thing for chocolate…which I find kind of weird because I don't think he has a mouth…hmmm…anyways; whats important is that I'm here to help you find this 'Creator Stone' thing."

They looked back toward the silver lake, and saw the damned rising up from the water and onto the shore, their expressionless faces chanting "join us…join us…!"

"I think its time to go!" Spyro said

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The sound of the battle station alarm was deafening as Sky was startled and rolled out of his bunk and onto he floor...

"Gah! What the hell!" sky yelled as the flashing red light indicated that all units need to report to their battle formations.

"A surprise attack sir! The empire of fire has deployed bombers and paratroopers on our position!" Python said

The air raid siren screamed the obvious as Sky burst from the barracks with his M-16 followed by the rest of his squad.

No sooner had they stepped out of the door, when a bomb hit the dead center of the barracks, throwing all of them forward violently.

Sky shook off his ringing ears and blurred vision and checked on the rest of his men.

Griffon and Python had splinters from the barracks lodged in them pretty badly, and they where bleeding from their wounds.

"Holy shit…MEDIC! MEDIC!!"

Sapphire came running with her red healer gem around her neck flailing wildly.

"I'm here, whats wrong?" she yelled over the explosions, and gunshots.

"Tend to these two, I've got to find Blaze!"

Sky ran to the last place he remembered Blaze going…his dads office.

'They're probably after the files in Spyro's office.' He thought

Sky ducked behind some crates and watched as empire of fire paratroopers floated down on his position outside Spyro's office.

There was something different about these shock troops…they had a patch on their arms that none of the others had, not to mention that they were at least twice as big as normal adult dragons, and they appeared to have metal wings. The patch on their arms had the letters F.E.A.R. on them. There were ten of them and they all began taking up positions around the building. Bullets began flying out of the second story window, what Sky guessed was Blaze.

They dodged Blaze's shots and Sky had them lined up in his sights. He fired off five bullets into the back of one of them, it took all five and merely turned around, its glowing red eyes made Sky freeze in his place. They all turned to face him and began walking towards him.

He grabs his knife and slashed at ones face. It grabbed his arm and lifted him up off the ground.

Blaze saw this, and jumped out of the window with his gun blazing.

"SKY!" he said firing as much as he could at the group of elite commandos.

The one that had Sky motioned to the others to attack.

As the commandos were halfway between Sky and Blaze, an empire of fire bomber with one wing blown off, plowed into Spyro's office and threw hot metal all over the F.E.A.R. operatives, killing them, but injuring Sky and Blaze.

"Blaze! Get up! We need to get to the bomb shelter!" Sky shouted as he limped over to him.

He had a jagged piece of aircraft in his leg. He grabbed it, and yanked it out, causing him immense pain as he bled even more. He grabbed Blaze and lifted his unconscious body over his shoulder and finally made it to the shelter entrance. He stumbled into the hallway as the large door shut behind them. Medics tended to both of them and Sky fell asleep, partly from exhaustion, and blood loss…


	7. Chapter 7 Down, But Not Out

CHAPTER 7- DOWN, BUT NOT OUT

Sky heard noises all around him, but not the noises of a fire fight, but those cries of the wounded. He mustered all of his remaining strength and forced his eyes open. It took him a second to focus on what was in front of him. It was Blaze, propped up against the wall of the bunker he dragged him in during the attack.

Blaze looked pretty beat up, his bandages were still a little bloody, but they healed most of his wounds.

As battle hardened as he was, he had always had a soft spot for Blaze. He grew up with him, and was led to believe that he was his brother for his early childhood. He tried not to give him any special treatment, but the other members of his squad knew the relationship between the two, so Sky had to almost treat him worse than the rest of the squad so they wont complain about his 'special treatment'.

Sky examined his own wounds, finding a few bandages on himself, and a sling on his arm. he tried to move his wrist and yelped in pain quietly, realizing that whatever it was he fought last night, broke his wrist when it picked him up by it.

He looked toward the blast door and noticed the dents in it. Someone tried to beat the door in, more than likely those paratroopers they fought.

The door creaked open and sunlight shone gradually into the dark bomb shelter as the door opened all the way, to reveal the silhouette of a dragoness. As Sky's eyes adjusted, he saw that it was Sapphire, blood was covering her forearms and some was randomly splattered against the pink scales on her stomach, none of it hers.

Sky shielded his eyes from the sun with his wings and stood up, his legs trembling beneath him. He took a step toward her but fell flat on the ground. Sapphire ran beside him and pushed him over onto his back, he looked at her and started laughing, she was one of the few people who ever saw this side of him.

"You are such a goof." she said smiling as she helped him to his feet.

"Thanks Saph." he said looking at Blaze, who was still unconscious.

"How is he?" he asked as she knelt over him waving her now glowing crystal over his wounds.

"He's got two broken ribs, a fractured wing, and numerous lacerations...but he has stopped bleeding for the most part, so as soon as we set up a field hospital we'll get him worked on."

"Why do you need a field hospital? Whats wrong with the one we have?" Sky asked hoping it wasn't the reason he had in the back of his mind.

Sapphire didn't take her eyes off of her brother as she spoke

"It took a direct bomb hit...there is almost nothing left. I was lucky that I was late getting there or I would've been inside when it happened." she said with as little emotion as possible. She was almost like Sky, in the sense that she was emotionally distant when it came to her job, getting emotional only makes both their jobs harder.

Sky walked toward the door and Sapphire stopped him

"Where are going?" she asked, this time stopping what she was doing.

"Going to look for the rest of my squad." he said turning his head to her as he departed.

The sun assaulted his eyes and his body as he realized it was an unusually hot day. He looked around the military base that was just 24 hours before, in perfect condition. Half of the buildings were unrecognizable, while other buildings only sustained minor damage.

He walked to where Spyro's office had been. singed and burned papers littered the ground. white sheets covering the dead were scattered about the base in seemingly random places. The enemy troops were left uncovered, partly because of the hatred between the two nations, and because of the small amount of covers for the bodies they actually had.

Sky looked at the twisted wreckage of the bomber that hit Spyro's office. The burned bodies of the crew were still strapped into their seats, but those things he was fighting were nowhere to be found however, which was what he was interested in. But as luck would have it, one of the patches from their uniforms was on the ground, he picked it up and read it to himself.

"F.E.A.R...Forward Energy Armed Recon." he put the patch in his pocket and continued his tour of the destroyed base.

He looked in every medical tent he came across for Python and Griffon. he found Python in one of them, laying in a bed with his whole chest wrapped in one big white bandage.

He was half asleep when he realized who was standing in front of his cot.

"Whoa! Hey sarge! How was your evening?" he asked

"Just peachy...dinner, a movie, then a night at Emeralds." he quipped back sitting down next to him.

"How are you feeling?" Sky asked

"I've been better." he answered

Sky grabbed the chart at the foot of his cot and looked at it. Sapphire had taught him to read medical charts in her spare time.

"You'll be fine. can you walk?" he asked replacing the chart

"I suppose...he said forcing himself out of his bed and walked with his Sargent out into the oppressive sunlight.

"Where is Griffon?" Sky asked

"Not sure...I passed out after the bomb hit the barracks. he could be anywhere."

"Great..." he said annoyed

"So any word on who our sniper is going to be? I miss having a five dragon squad."

"I haven't heard anything yet, but we do need a replacement for private Gino..." Sky's voice trailed off, and Python knew why.

"That wasn't your fault sarge, you did all you could to find him." he said putting his hand on his shoulder.

Python was like the brother he never had. Sure he thought of Blaze as his brother, but as a younger sibling, Python was more like his closest friend, he was in his original squad, with Gino, himself, Siphon, Python, and Rabbit. His old squad was now down to two original members. Gino was captured, tortured, then killed...Rabbit fell onto a land mine, and Siphon was taking P.O.W.'s when one of them that 'surrendered' drew his sidearm and shot him three times in the chest before they could kill him. that was part of the reason why they no longer take prisoners. Blaze replaced Rabbit when he came of age, and Griffon replaced Siphon, they still needed a sharpshooter however.

They came upon the last medical tent they hadn't checked.

They found Griffon lying in a bed reading a magazine.

"Griffon!" Sky yelled, angry that he was sitting around doing nothing in the aftermath of a major attack.

"Ah! Sarge! What are you doing here?" he said startled in his heavy New York accent.

"Making sure the U.D.A. is paying you for a reason! What the hell do you think you're doing just laying around while there are wounded that need beds?!" Sky barked, his sargent instincts taking over even though he was still wounded.

Sky walked over with Python and checked his medical chart.

"You're fine private, get up and help us find the field hospital." Sky said calming down, his elevated blood pressure causing him to bleed a little more.

The three of them left the tent and saw a large tent with a red cross on the top beside the hospital, where they hoped to find Blaze.

"You guys stay here, I'll see whats up." Sky said as he entered Blaze's section of the enormous tent.

Blaze was barely awake, and Sapphire was next him, setting up his I.V. with a blood transfusion.

"Hows he doing?" he asked, making Sapphire turn around.

"He's doing fine...just a little sleepy is all. you know you lost a lot of blood, you should think about one of these yourself." she smiled as she hung her brothers blood bag on the stand.

"I'll be fine, just a few scratches."

Just then, the flap to Blaze's room burst open as two Dragoness' stood in the entrance, looking like the hadn't gotten any sleep the entire night. they were Ember and Cynder.

"Blaze! Sapphire! Sky! Thank the ancestors you're alive!" Ember said hugging Sky, then Sapphire, then her youngest son.

"Whats wrong with my baby?" she asked sitting on the edge of Blaze's bed, stroking his head.

"Mom...I'm not...five...anymore...I'm a grown...dragon." he muttered due to the sedatives his sister had given him

Ember smiled and kept on, despite her sons protest as he fell asleep once more.

"Hey mom." Sky said as she hugged him and the rest of them. they all might as well been family, since they were so close.

"Are you ok Sky?"

"I'm fine mom, just a little banged up is all." he said reassuring his mother of the safety of her only son.

"Where's dad? And Spyro?" he asked

"They went out on a secret mission for the elders, they were looking for something, but they wouldn't tell me what." Cynder said

Having seen enough, Sky left the tent and left the rest of his family with Blaze. grabbing Griffon and Python they went to the dragon temple to consult with the elders.

The temple had sustained no damage during the attack, it was hidden in the trees, keeping it out of plain sight of the bomber crews.

"Terrador? Where are you?" Sky asked entering the main atrium of the chamber, then into the room with the huge dragon statue, which was now old, and cracking in places, its features worn as it was ravaged by time for hundreds of years.

"Uh...huh? Oh, in here my boy." Terrador answered. since Ignitus' assassination, he was made the head elder, and leader of the remaining delegates of the U.D.A. his age was catching up with him however, as he was hard of hearing, and his old bones were not much for fighting anymore.

"What are we going to do to retaliate against the Empire Of Fire?" Sky asked eager for revenge.

"We dont have very many resources...but where the Empire of fire has sheer numbers, we have more advanced technology. We purchased 50 of the most advanced bombers the Humans have, with pilots trained to fly them. All we need is a target, and the word to attack. unfortunately, that is exactly what they will be expecting. We must strike somewhere they are truly unprepared...the capitol city of Arcadia. We do not have nuclear capabilities, but we do have heavy conventional bombs, and radiological infused weapons. It will only be a pinprick, but it will be right through their heart."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So any idea what we are looking for? Or where it is?" Crypto asked as they wandered through the dense gray fog.

"Not sure. all they could tell me is that this 'creator stone' thing, if it exists, is in a place called the temple of the ages." Spyro answered as the ambient chill of this realm shot through their scales to the bone.

"How long have we been walking for? And in what direction?"

"I dont know, the compass doesnt work here." Spyro snapped, annoyed at their current situation.

"Hey don't get mad at me just because you don't know where we are going or what we're looking for or furthermore, if what we are looking for even exists!" Crypto said in only his special way that would push Spyro's buttons to no end.

"Well maybe if you hadn't played the self sacrificing hero _again,_ we wouldn't even be here because there wouldn't be any Empire Of Fire!" Spyro shouted as he stopped walking and faced Crypto, bringing up a sore subject that he wouldn't have normally, but something about this realm just made you hostile towards everything. Spyro barred his fangs, not to attack, but out of instinct.

"Really?! Is that what you think?! That I am just some glory hog who left my own family and my friends for TEN YEARS of solitude in an abandoned realm, simply to be the sacrificial lamb?!" Crypto was furious and his teeth were also barred.

"You could have easily closed the portal and got out with us!"

"And let the dark master plot to escape and come back for us?! That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard! And If you had been a better leader, none of the 'revolution' shit would have happened!"

Spyro and Crypto stared at each other then Spyro turned his head up and to one side and said something softly, but loud enough so him to hear.

"You're just jealous because you live in my shadow."

There was silence as Crypto's mouth opened slightly in disbelief.

Spyro opened one eye to see if his remark had landed. it had.

"You son of a bitch!" Crypto said tackling Spyro and sending both of them rolling down a large hill, both of them biting and scratching as they went. after a long tumble, they came to a stop and the g force of their rolling threw them apart a few feet. Crypto got up and tried to catch his breath, as did Spyro.

But Spyro saw something out of the fog behind Crypto that amazed him. It was a huge, Aztec style temple, with a skull on the top, and torches with blue flames lit all around it.

"Crypto! Look behind you!"

"Pfft, yeah right! Do think I'm retarded or something?"

"Will you just turn around?!" Spyro commanded

"Why? So you can hit me from behind, cheater?" he mocked

"Grrr..." Spyro said as he walked quickly over to Crypto and turned his head for him, so that he saw what he did.

"Wow...for the record, this doesn't mean you win." he said as Spyro walked toward the entrance.

"Yeah sure, just help me find a way to get in here." Spyro said, his mind now all business.

"Right... lets do it."

**I know it took an insanely long time to update this story, but I try to limit myself to only 2 stories going at a time, max. anyways, this is no longer on hold, so tell me what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8 A Pin Through The Heart

CHAPTER 8- A PIN THROUGH THE HEART

A heavy rain fell on the Old City district of Arcadia. A lone dragon walked the empty streets, passing propaganda posters of their leader Xavier, encouraging them to, recycle, work in the factories, and contribute what they could to the armed forces.

His name was Noran. he was an Artisan dragon with green outer scales and yellow belly scales and horns. The world he was brought up in was fast changing. Human ideas and technology was rapidly mixing with his draconic culture, and by the time he was his current age of 18, he was already familiar with the advancement of his civilization. Computers, electronics, basically any human technology that was imported, he knew how to use it, as did the rest of his generation.

He knew of the struggle between the Empire and the U.D.A. he was in the military, as it was required for all able bodied males to join once they were of age. As far as he was concerned, the U.D.A. were traitors to the dragon race, and deserved nothing but a traitors death. He kept his head down to shield his eyes against the wind and rain, until finally arriving at his destination. A small, old looking house that was in need of repair, but held up well enough. Noran unlocked the door and stepped inside, shaking off a little bit of the rain water before grabbing a towel, and wiping his face. he threw it on his couch and walked to a blinking red two sitting on his kitchen table. He pressed play, and heard a familiar voice.

_'Noran, its your mother. Your father and I wanted to know how your air raid drill went this weekend. We love you son.'_

"Message deleted" the answering machine said in its robotic tone.

'I'll call them in a minute...' he thought to himself as he waited for the next message to start. The voice on this one was decidedly younger, and brought a smile to Noran's face whenever he heard it, that of his girlfriend, Cera.

_'Hey babe, I'm almost ready to go out, its about 9:55, so call me soon so I know you're coming. I love you!'_

"Message deleted"

He couldnt help but grin at the fact that the girl he had secretly liked for the longest time was now his, and his alone. He had guessed her sudden interest was due to his entrance into adulthood. his muscles filled out, he got taller, and his wingspan increased two times its previous size. He ran his hand through his spikes between his horns and sighed. It was still pouring down rain, and he had no car, so he looked around his house for cab fare. it was times like this he wished that flying wasn't taken out of the school curriculum. It was under Xavier's orders that all young dragons not be taught to fly until the age of 30 at the latest. The reasons for this are known only to him, but they all trust his judgment. he is the one responsible for the liberation of Attica from the unjust government of the U.D.A. and an air strike right into the heart of the U.D.A. capitol. That was proud day for all citizens of the Empire Of Fire.

He found enough gems to get a cab ride for him and his girlfriend and hailed the taxi.

He climbed in and told the cabbie where to go. s he drove, Noran was lost in his thoughts...how lucky he was to have Cera, how he could think of no other way he'd rather spend his few days of leave from the military than with her. Before he knew it, they were outside her house, in the richer section of town. He stepped out of the cab and walked the few steps to her front door, and knocked. After a few seconds, the dragoness of his dreams stood before him, smiling as softly and warmly as she always did, all dolled up and ready to go to one of the newest and trendiest night spots in town. Club Billionaire.

"Ready?" he asked, his beautiful white and blue dragoness knowing full well the answer.

"Mhmm. Lets go." she said as he opened her cab door and she hurried in to try and stay as dry as possible,the locket he had given her on their first date around her neck.

He went around and got in, a little more wet than she was.

"So how was your day sweetheart?' Noran asked fishing money out of his wallet to give to the cab driver as they pulled up to the entrance of the club, the bass from the sound system vibrated the ground outside. Nightclubs didn't exist until the Human realms were opened up for trade. But they soon caught on in the Empire territories, but the more conservative U.D.A. was not very fond of them, therefore few of them opened there, and were soon closed due to lack of business.

"It was good. Just answering the phones like I always do." she said getting out of the car as the doorman opened the cab door.

Normally, it would cost a good amount of gems to get into a place like this, but Noran knew the bouncer, and he got in for free regularly.

They skipped the long line to get in and moved right to the center dance floor of the five story nightclub, which was playing exclusively Human music. Noran went to the bar and ordered a drink while Cera caught up with some friends from work.

Noran looked around the club, taking in his mixed culture. Plasma T.V's hung from the ceiling, playing music videos made by humans with names like '50 cent, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and such. The pounding bass had a way of making you move, even if you weren't on the dance floor. The dragons and dragoness' that were however, were dancing in a way that the conservative U.D.A. would have definitely disapproved of, if not banned altogether. (A/N: If any of my readers have ever been to a nightclub, you know what I'm talking about.)

Cera soon joined him at the bar and grabbed his hand.

"I love drop it like its hot! We have to dance!" she said excited that her favorite song was now shaking the entire club.

Noran pounded the rest of his drink and let her drag him into the middle of the floor.

She began dancing like everyone else, and Noran knew exactly how to follow. He got behind her and followed every swing of her body perfectly as she moved to the thump of the bass.

His hands on her hips he followed through two more songs before she kissed him quickly and led him back to the bar.

"I'm gonna go freshen up some, buy me a drink?" she asked sweetly, in that way that would make Noran say yes every time.

"Ok." he said smiling at her, he was happier than he'd ever been. Sure there was a war on, but that was thousands of miles away from here. Tonight, it was just him, and her.

She came back and put her head close to his.

"Want to go to the top floor?" she asked

"The Skybar? I will if you want me to."

She smiled at his answer and led him up the stairs to the V.I.P. lounge on the roof. Cera loved clubs, they were one of her favorite things to do, since she was stuck in a stuffy office all day answering phones, this was one of the few places she could cut loose.

Noran knew this bouncer and got into the Skybar without any trouble.

"There's Keris! I haven't seen her in years! I'll be right back ok?"

"Ok. I'm getting a drink. want one?"

"Yeah, surprise me!" she said over her shoulder as she made her way across the crowded rooftop which was still vibrating from the music downstairs. Noran got his drinks and looked up at the peaceful night sky, at the stars which shone brightly, and reminded him of Cera's eyes when she was happy. He noticed something about a section of sky a little to the left of the rooftop. He saw a small, quick flash, followed by several more, then even more after that. everyone who saw them marveled and thought they were fireworks, clapping lightly after the last flash. There was something moving in the places where the flashes had been. What appeared to be flying V's, which immediately took several chevron formations. One of the groups was headed directly over the nightclub.  
"Is this some kind of light show?" Noran asked himself as the things got closer. Soon he recognized what they were, and his heart dropped to his stomach, and he dropped both drinks as the aircraft's bomb bay doors opened, and he recognized the U.D.A. star and letters on the side of the bombers.

Time seemed to slow down as he tried to run through the crowded rooftop to reach Cera.

He shouted her name as he pushed through the crowd knocking dragons over as he finally caught a glimpse of her face.

"Cera!" He shouted as loud as he could over the music. There was a bomber formation behind her in the distance that released its payload on one of the tall skyscrapers in the business district, filling the building with fire as it collapsed on top of another shorter building, crushing it as well.

He was almost there...about 100 feet away, she saw the look of concern on her face as she glanced up at the bombers which were now directly overhead, so close that you could hear the metal bomb racks release their iron grip on their weapons.

Soon the crowd began to panic and rush toward the door, and Noran was swept back in it, causing him to loose ground, and get farther away from Cera.

"Cera! Run!" he shouted as he tried desperately to reach her before the bomb crashed through the roof.

He took one final step as he watched a 500 pound bomb impact the roof, and bury itself on the ground floor of the club.

Noran looked into Cera's eyes one last time.

The bomb detonated with an earsplitting roar, cutting the building in half as both pieces fell to the ground.

When the bomb exploded, a wall of fire erupted from the hole that separated Cera and himself, and blew Noran back into the bar, sending him through the bar itself. he felt cuts along his back as he felt the entire building fall over, he was just along for the ride.

He was slammed into the ground with the rest of the building and was knocked unconscious.

The first thing he heard after the ringing in his ears was the sounds of ambulances, all over the city. He forced his eyes open, and saw nothing but smoke and dust in the air. He remembered Cera and tried to stand up. As he did, he felt an excruciating pain in his shoulder, and he lay back down. He felt his shoulder and realized that a steel rod had been driven into the ground and through his shoulder. He turned to look at his injury, and cringed. It was pretty bad, it went all the way through. he knew what he had to do, he had to lift himself up off the rod and go find Cera.

Noran gritted his teeth and pushed up with all he had, crying out, the pain intensifying as the jagged edges of the rod cutting his wound as it came out.

He freed himself from his metal trap and lay on the ground for a little while trying to catch his breath, tears of pain coming from his eyes.

Soon he stood up, and covered his wound as it bled heavily. He remembered which way the building collapsed, and ran to the opposite side of the rubble, stepping over bodies, and body parts as he went.

He called her name over and over again in the dust and smoke. Something glistening in the firelight caught his eye...the locket she had been wearing. He picked it up and saw her hand in the obscured light. He rushed to her and saw that a few chunks of concrete had pinned her down.

"Cera! Hang on!" he said as he worked through the pain throwing the several hundred pound chunks off of her. After he freed her, he cradled her in his arms, when he saw a piece of steel, like the one that had impaled him, sticking out of her chest.

Noran looking into her light blue eyes as she struggled to open them.

"No...Noran?" she asked wearily.

"yes...its me Cera...please hang on, the ambulance is almost here...please stay with me..."

"Noran...this...hurts..."

he looked at her terrible condition, the blood from her wound slowly changing the color of her white belly scales.

"I know sweetheart...please...don't die...keep talking to me..."

"I...love you, Noran..."

"I love you too...please don't talk like that..." he said as tears flowed down his face and dripped onto her.

"Noran..." she said with her last breath, her hand going limp in his own, he squeezed it, like it would bring her back.

"Cera...please god no no no no no no no NO! please come back Cera..." he said

Noran dropped his loves hand and held her locket close, and took a quiet vow.

"I swear on my life...that I will kill every last soldier of the U.D.A!"


	9. Chapter 9 The Temple Of Ages

CHAPTER 9-THE TEMPLE OF AGES

Spyro came to what he guessed was the front of the temple. On the pillars beside the entrance, one had hand prints cut into the stone, with the yellow triangles matching Crypto's hands.

"Crypto! come over here!" Spyro called out.

"What?" he said running over and stopping behind him.

"Put your hands in these." Spyro instructed.

Crypto did and the large stone door slowly grinded open.

"Alright! lets get in there." Crypto said as Spyro walked past the door. He took his hands out of the pillar and the stone door slammed shut, trapping Spyro inside the temple, and Crypto outside.

"Spyro! Can you hear me?" he yelled through the thick stone door.

"Yeah! I dont know how to get you in here!" he said back, his voice barely audible through the dense stone.

"Its ok, I'll wait outside for you, just get in there and get that stone!"

Spyro turned away from the door and walked down the dark hallway, staying close to the wall. As he walked, he hit his head on something hard and metal, the clang echoing through the empty halls.

"Ow! son of a bitch..." he said rubbing his head and feeling what he just ran into. It was an unlit torch!

"Thank the gods." he said as he lit it with his breath. once lit, the torch illuminated the ancient pictures on the wall, and words written in ancient Draconian. luckily for him, he had learned the ancient languages when he was younger, thanks to Ignitus' constant teaching.

"If the Creator Stone is the prize you desire, then the temple guardians stones, you must acquire. Only the pure of heart can complete these challenges. Only then, will the Ancestors bless you with the ultimate power." Spyro read off the wall out loud. ahead of him, he saw another door, like the first one outside. It had the elemental symbol of fire carved into it. He looked on the walls for a switch but found nothing. With all other options exhausted, he decided to blow fire on the door, and as luck would have it, the door slowly opened.

Spyro stepped inside and the door slammed shut behind him. He looked to the center of the room and saw a large fire burning in a pit, but it had no visible means of fuel.

He stepped up to it and the fire intensifies. The flames reach higher and form the upper part of a dragons body.

"You seek the creator stone, do you not?" the entity asked him.

"I do. What must I do to get it?"

"You must pass the tests of the elements. Starting with mine. I am Infernous, master of Fire. And these, are my servants." he said as dragons about his size made completely of fire jumped from the pit and took a combat stance.

"If you can defeat my minions in battle, I will grant you the Firestone, which you will need to enter the next masters room. Ready? Fight!"

Five fire dragons attacked at once. Spyro jumped back and shot a cold ice blast at them, which did nothing, as he half expected.

They threw fireballs at him, crashing and exploding on impact. He dodged them all, but needed a way to beat these things.

He threw his best earth tornado at them, and the intense wind sucked them all up, then blew them out, making them disappear in a black cloud of ash, back into the pit from whence they came.

"Congratulations purple one, enter the next room and take this with you." A red gem floated out of the fire and right in front of Spyro, hovering for a few seconds before he grabbed it, and put it around his neck. He walked to the door on the opposite end of the room, and opened it just like the last one. He was in a narrow hallway, until he came upon yet another door, with the elemental symbol for earth on it. He gave it a light earth shot and it opened.

There was a pile of dirt in the middle of this room, from which another dragon torso assembled itself.

"Greetings purple warrior, you have come to claim the earth stone?"

Spyro nodded and the being continued.

"I am Guya! Master of earth. So you believe you have mastered the elements have you? Then let me put you to the test!"

The ground rumbled as Guya commanded the ground beneath Spyro to rise up and crash into the ceiling. He jumped from where he was and rolled, getting back onto his feet. Guya then sent his dirt soldiers after him. Spyro slashed at them with his tail and claws, but it just went right through them. Spyro was surrounded in a corned by the earth dragons, all charging earth shots to finish Spyro off, when he launched his fire fury attack.

The heat was so extreme that it turned the dirt soldiers to glass, freezing them where they stood. He caught his breath, then one by one, shattered them into millions of pieces.

"Excellent work purple dragon! You have proved yourself worthy to claim the earth stone. Enter the next room!"

The entity dissolved back into the pile of leaves and a green stone in the shape of a leaf floated out of the leaf pile. Spyro grabbed it and put it around his neck like the last one.

The next door was the ice element room. He blew his ice breath on the door and it raised, granting him access to a room with a blue flame sitting on a pillar of ice, with razor sharp icicles gleaming from the ceiling.

"Purple one! Welcome to the freezer! I am Isis, the master of cold! You dare to stand against my mighty ice warriors?"

Spyro nodded

"Very well! Then let us begin!" with that, the icicles began raining from the ceiling, cutting his leg, leaving a size able gash.

He stumbled back in pain, but gritted his teeth and stood up on his injury, and addressed the ice knights charging him with their jagged lances.

Spyro stepped on a piece of ice that had one edge sticking up, causing it to flip up into the air and he caught it, then threw it javelin style at the closest ice knight, shattering its shield and its right arm.

Another one thrust his lance at him. Spyro moved his head to the right, making him miss by and inch or two. He tucked its lance under his arm, and lifted the knight off the ground, and slung him into the rest of them, causing them to shatter.

"Very good! You are indeed capable of defeating the noble element of Ice, take this, and proceed to the next masters chamber!"

Spyro collected the Ice stone and continued into the electricity masters quarters.

In this room, there were two towers with two large metal electrodes about ten feet apart. The towers sparked to life and an electric current formed another being.

"Purple dragon! I am Ampere master of Electricity! I warn you now that this challenge will not be a walk in the park like those last ones were."

"I've faced worse, hit me with your best shot." Spyro said confidently

"Very well..." Ampere charged an electric shot and launched at Spyro with blistering speed.

Spyro only had enough time to move a few inches, keeping it from hitting his heart, but still allowing it to slam into his left shoulder, sending him flying into a wall, and taking away the use of his left arm.

'What? No soldiers?' Spyro thought as he shot electricity at Ampere, having no effect.

"Foolish dragon! You should know electricity cannot harm me!" he said throwing another bolt of lightning at him, Spyro dodging it this time.

Spyro blew flame, earth and ice at Ampere, but nothing seemed to effect him, and he was getting tired of dodging his relentless attacks.

'What is this guys weakness?' he thought looking desperately for a weak point or something to bring him down.

he picked up a rather large rock and decided on his plan.

Spyro hurled the rock toward one of the towers, knocking it over.

"Damnit! I have been beaten! I suppose you are worthy to take my lighting stone. but be warned, the next and last challenge will be the toughest of them all. Purple dragon, you are your own worst enemy." Ampere warned as Spyro took the next step and entered the final room. in this room, there was nothing but a marble floor, polished to a reflective finish. a black fog swirled around the grounds, limiting his vision.

'I only have four elements mastered... how many more are there?' Spyro thought to himself as he walked to what he guessed was the center of the room.

"Ahhh, prophecy dragon, welcome to your fifth and final challenge. I am Dekeros, Master of Darkness."

This news put Spyro on alert.

"What do you mean 'master of darkness?' like the dark master?" Spyro called out into the void, not seeing where the voice was coming from.

"Ahahahahaha, that weakling is no match for me, unfortunately, I cannot leave the temple, and I am a benevolent master, but I take challengers such as yourself seriously, so are you ready?"

Spyro still had no idea what this challenge was going to entail, but he was prepared for anything.

"I am, lets go!"

"let the test, begin."

he stood in the center of the room, waiting for something to happen, but nothing did. no movement, sound or anything.

Spyro scanned from one side to another, then turned around, and came face to face with a dragon exactly his size and weight, except he was solid black, almost like a shadow, but with white eyes.

he stumbled back and looked his opponent over, trying to size him up.

Spyro's head tilted slightly, and the shadow mirrored his action.

he raised his hand, then lowered it, and the shadow mimicked.

he reached his arm out, and the shadow followed. when they touched, the shadow pulled Spyro's and threw him into the wall.

the shadow turned and shot an electric bolt at him, paralyzing his entire body, and shocking him at the same time.

he lifted Spyro into the air and slammed him repeatedly into the floor, cracking it before finally releasing him.

the wind was knocked out of him, but he managed to get an earth shot off, stunning his foe so spyro could hide in the dense fog.

he watched the shadow search for him with its fire breath, and waited for the perfect moment to strike.

the shadow faced him and Spyro lept from the fog, and threw a fireball right in its face, sending it careening into a column, knocking the debris from it onto the shadow.

Spyro had a finishing earth shot charged in his muzzle and was screaming down toward the shadow warrior, when it raised its hand, and blocked him with a dark energy shield that threw him off.

"What? He uses dark energy?" Spyro said confused.

the figure nodded its head and shot ten dark energy bands, that wrapped Spyro completely, and brought him closer.

the shadow charged a fireball to destroy him, the heat from it was almost unbearable as Spyro thought desperately about how to escape, so he tried something he hadnt used since his fight with Cynder.

he 'released his inner dragon' and just like he remembered, the purple dragon heads crashed repeatedly into the shadow making him retract his tentacles, and explode in a white flash.

"Well done Purple dragon. you are worthy of the final elemental stone. Take the darkness stone, you will know what you must do with the stones in the next room. Now go, there is not much time." Dekeros said as Spyro entered the final room. there were five walls in this room, each with a place to put the stones. once he did, the walls flipped over to reveal stone dragon heads mounted on them.

Light beams shot from the mouths of the heads and a magnificently glowing white stone about the size of a basketball. Spyro grabbed it and it floated out of the roof of the temple, along with him, and let him down near Crypto, who had fallen asleep.

"Wake up! This is a terrible place to sleep!" Spyro said shaking him

As his wits came about him, he noticed the floating ball beside him.

"Is that..."

"Yup."

"Then lets get that back to Avalar!"

The creator stone, as if it understood them, opened a portal out of the damned realms, which they entered.

"Cyril! get this thing to a lab! I think the tables are about to turn."


	10. Chapter 10 Norans Journey

CHAPTER- 10 NORAN'S JOURNEY

The rest of that fateful night passed by in a sorrowful blur. Noran had lost the only person besides his parents who had ever loved him. he awoke sometime later in a hospital bed, noticing his bandaged wounds, he slid his legs to the other side of the bed and tried to walk, but his legs were still a little weak from the lack of rest, but he managed to stumble into the hallway, after throwing his tattered clothes back on.

After sneaking out of the hospital, he went directly to the military base on the edge of town, where he'd know they would tell him to report eventually.

"Name and soldier number." The corporal at the front desk said after a long wait in an unusually long line.

"Noran, 233453."

After a few quick keystrokes, the corporal viewed his information.

"Good evening sarge, you are to report to the south transit portal at 1400. Your platoon is waiting."

Noran walked out of the building, still with some time to kill since it was only one o'clock.

He was so deeply in shock about the events of the night before, that it hadn't really hit him yet that Cera was dead. Noran felt as if he could just go to her house, knock on her door, and there she would be...just as beautiful as he remembered. He walked back to his house and unlocked his door in a blank haze. He unlocked his door, walked straight to his room, where a picture of Cera sat on his nightstand. He fell to his knees and stared at it as tears welled up then flowed from his eyes silently. Noran grabbed the picture off the night stand and held it in front of him, his tears falling onto the glass separating the picture from the outside world. He set it onto the ground, and reached for the drawer under his bed, and pulled out his nine millimeter. He kept it here to defend his house in case he was robbed, or if the war swung in the favor of the U.D.A. and a ground invasion was launched. He held it in his right hand, and looked at the shining metal finish, and saw his teary eyed reflection. He grabbed the clip out of the drawer as well, and slid it into the bottom of the gun, then cocking it. he looked at it for longer this time, feeling the weight of it in his hands.  
"Cera...I cant live without you...I cant...I'm sorry..." he said softly, almost a whisper as he held the gun to his head.

He closed his eyes...

He gritted his teeth...

He pulled the trigger...

...Nothing...just the click of the firing pin on a dud round.

He dropped the gun and fell backwards onto the ground sobbing.

He thought of Cera, and what she would have done if he had died... if he had died...he wouldnt want her to kill herself, he'd want her to keep on living, and remember that he loved her. And it was a miracle that the hollow point in the chamber was a dud, so it must have been a sign, that he is meant for something more on this world. he pulled back the slider and ejected the round. he picked it up and looked at the back of the bullet. There was a dent where the firing pin struck. he put the gun back on the table, and removed the picture of Cera and put it in his wallet, and he put the bullet in his pocket. he stood up, and wiped his eyes clean of his tears. He donned his battle dress uniform and left his house, for what he knew would be a long time.

As Noran walked down the street he stopped in front of one of the many public broadcast television screens, playing the state run news.

"...After the sneak attack on innocent civilians, late last night, our fearless leader Xavier has decided to take this war to the next level by mobilizing all able fighting forces for an attack on the cowardly U.D.A. We go live to the Supreme Chancellor himself, Emperor Xavier."

"These terrible acts of disregard for civilian life will be met with the full might of the Empire of Fire! All dragons who reside under the U.D.A. banner, and do not surrender, will be eliminated immediately! Long live the Empire!" the crowd outside Xavier's palace erupted as the news broadcast went on to cover other news of the day.

Noran sat on a park bench for the remainder of the hour, lost in his thoughts.

'I have nothing left...they have taken everything from me...my love...my life...they will not go unpunished. I swear to you Cera, that I will avenge you...I swear on my life.' he reported to the south portal and was issued an AK-47, just like everyone else. He joined his platoon, none of which he knew, and introduced himself.

"I am Sargent Noran, and I'll be leading you slackers through this hell we like to call war. We are going to Congus, a jungle realm rich in gems that power our machines. Any questions?"

His squad stood silent and at attention.

"Good. Then lets get in there and collect some heads."

He and his squad stepped through the portal and were transported to a distant jungle world, where Noran gave his briefing.

"Ok, we have a small outpost on this world, which we are to recon the surrounding area for rumored U.D.A forces hiding in the jungle. The base is just over that hill. Lets move."

Norans platoon walked through the jungle and entered , greeted by the colonel and installation commander. A large red dragon in a military uniform, his awards and ribbons displayed proudly on his chest, his large reflective aviator glasses reflected him and his squadron.

Noran saluted, as did the rest of his squad.

"At ease men. Sargent Noran,we've been getting reports of activity just outside our borders...land mines, booby traps, minor things like that, but they have still been causing injuries, and we want them taken out. Understood?"

"Yes sir." he answered

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Spyro and Crypto waited in the command room for the report of the success of the bombing run on Arcadia.

A corporal walked into the room and saluted Spyro, which he returned.

"Sir, the attack on Arcadia was a complete success! Zero casualties on our side, and 100 percent bombing accuracy. E.O.F. casualty estimates are in the hundred thousands."

It pained Spyro to know that innocent civilians were killed, but this was the way the war had turned, and if he was going to protect his dragons, he had to destroy theirs by any means.

"Good...send this report to Terrador immediately."

"Aye sir!" he said turning sharply and leaving.

"Well, that was a success, you should be happy Spyro. Whats wrong?" Crypto asked

"Its just...this isnt a war...not like we're used to...innocent people used to never get hurt...now look at us...we're bombing cities...what have we become Crypto?" Spyro asked him sadly sitting down in his chair at his temporary office.

Crypto sat down next to him looked him in the eye.

"I'll tell you what we have become. We are what this war has made us, this kind of war is indeed a new and terrible thing, but if we didnt fight like this, then we would all never have lasted this long. You're a brilliant leader Spyro. we can win this, you just have to keep you head up, and keep fighting till our very last breath."

He knew he was right, and it took a friend like him to remind him of his obligations, and he thanked the gods he had someone to do it.

"...Yeah...its the only way..any word on the creator stone?" Spyro asked

"None yet...the professor is the head of weapons research...he's at least 70 years old...it might take a little while." Crypto chuckled slightly as he patted Spyro on the back, leaving him to his work.

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Noran assembled his squad at the edge of the base, and told them they were to scout the area and take out any U.D.A. resistance they came across, something he made sure he would do, in the most efficient way possible. He loaded his assault rifle, and holstered his sidearm, blazing a trail through the dense jungle.

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"Sky, you and your squadron are to report to the transport portal from travel to the jungle world of Congus, and set traps, sabotage, and otherwise hinder the advancement of the E.O.F. and prepare for the attack and takeover of the realm for their resources. Spare no one." Sky read their assignment aloud to his squad.

"So we're going to kick some ass as always huh?" Blaze asked

"It looks like it. Get your shit together, we ship out in half an hour."

Two paths are about to cross, in the jungles of a distant realm.


	11. Chapter 11 Crossing Paths In Congus

CHAPTER-11 CROSSING PATHS IN CONGUS

Sky and his commando's stepped lightly as they cut a path through the jungle, and finally, after hours of walking, arrived at the outskirts of the E.O.F.'s outpost.

They hid in the bushes and Sky took out his binoculars.

"Lets see...lightly garrisoned...a skeleton crew at most...lightly armored...wait a second...ok we got a squad of heavily armed guys, five of them. they are probably looking for us."

Sky put his optics down and produced a claymore mine and trip wire

"Alright lads lets get to work." Python said setting traps as the rest of them took their supplies and fanned out.

By nightfall, all the traps had been set, and Sky and his squad had met up with the other five special operations squads at a campsite they had set up.

Sky met with the other five squad leaders in the ops tent while the rest of his dragons got some rest.

"From what I've seen, the outpost is lightly garrisoned, and can easily be over taken by our forces, all we have to do is attack them by surprise." Sky explained over a large map of the area on the table.

"Right, at midnight, I will take my squad, along with Sargent Jaco's platoon and attack from the north, while captain Elzar and Sargent Sirus attack from the south. Sky, your squad is headed right up the meat grinder, are you up for that?" Colonel Griza asked 

"Aye sir, we can handle it."

"Then ready your squads, we attack at 2400. and be on the lookout for this individual." the Colonel flashed a picture of a green dragon up on the tent wall.

"We want this one alive. Understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Dismissed." 

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Noran gathered his squad at the edge of the outpost and addressed them.

"Alright boys, we've got traps set all over this jungle, so for the love of Xavier be CAREFUL." he said as he led his squad through the jungle 

He halfway knew the names of his squad members, but didnt really care to learn them. they were expendable, just as he was, and odds are, at least one of them would die within the next week, so it would be better not to get attached. 

Using hand signals, Noran told them to spread out, and look for any signs of enemy patrols.

'I'll find them...no prisoners...no mercy.' these thoughts raced through his mind as his finger rested lightly with ever slightly increasing pressure as he walked

Finding nothing, they returned to the outpost, and reported to the dragon in charge.

"Sir, nothing found in sectors 1-5." 

"Hmm...they are out there, get ready for another search later tonight, at 2300."

"Yes sir..." Noran said walking out of the tent and back to his squad. 

"Alright boys, get some rest, we have another patrol at 2300."

Noran went into his tent and took off all his gear, and pulled out Cera's photo, and the bullet from his gun. he put the photo in his helmet and he drilled a hole through the back of the bullet and put it on the chain that held his dog tags.

He looked into his helmet at Cera, and tears began to flow once more.

He wasnt stupid, he had overheard the colonel over the radio...he is leaving on a helicopter as soon as they are supposed to go out on patrol, along with key high ranking officers. This outpost was a lost cause...the U.D.A. presence in this realm was increasing steadily, and they were the only ones to reinforce this outpost in months...so it looked like he would join Cera soon enough...and he would make sure that he took as many with him as he could.

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2300

Sky and his men were readying their gear when they heard one of the traps they had set go off. 

"There we go boys! Our first catch of the day!" Python said excitedly

"No time for celebration, we have to get in position. move out!" Sky commanded, and all squads went into the jungle to set their deadly trap.

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"What was that!" Noran shouted as the explosion rocked their position. 

"Pirus stepped on a mine sir! We lost him..."

"Damnit...an hour into this patrol and I've already lost one soldier.." 

Noran then heard the noise of a helicopter overhead, no doubt the one that will carry the important ones away from here and leave the rest of the expendable enlisted troops to die.

His squad was about a half mile from the base when he heard a whistling noise, then an explosion, followed by more whistling, then more explosions.

"They're shelling the base! Retreat! Defend the outpost at all costs!" Noran shouted over his radio as him and his squad sprinted back toward the command center in the darkness.

They got there in the midst of the artillery barrage, and only two of his men made it out of the jungle.

"Where's the rest of the squad?" Noran shouted over the blasts 

"Traps sir! None of them made it out alive!" 

Noran growled and jumped behind a wall of sandbags facing the jungle, ready to kill whatever came at them.

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"Good job boys, the shelling is still hot, so get on the outside of the jungle and start shooting! Understood?" Sky yelled over the noise.

"Yes sir!"

They blended in with the shrubs around the base and began firing at the E.O.F. forces, taking down anyone who was exposed.

The shells stopped falling and the order from the captain came over the radio.

"Charge!" 

"Go go go! Move up that hill!" Sky said dashing to the nearest cover as did the rest of his squad. since they were in the middle, the gunfire was almost overwhelming.

"Grenades on three men! One, two, three!" they hurled their grenades at a precise location and they all detonated, silencing the gunfire long enough for them to make the final dash up the hill to the outpost.

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Noran noticed the shells stop coming, so he raised up behind the sandbags and fired a few shots at the charging dragons before they hid in cover.

He signaled to his men to keep firing. he peeked out from around the top of the barrier and saw grenades hurdling towards them, they exploded where his two remaining troops where, throwing their blood and what was left of them on Noran. His ears ringing, he could still hear the whir of the rotor blades of the helicopter beginning to take off. He tried to stand up, but was very dizzy. He managed to get to his knees, but was unaware of where his weapon had landed. He looked down the hill where the enemy was, and saw blurs running towards him. One got right up next to him and said something, but his ears were still useless, so he had no idea what he said, all he knew was that this was it, he would finally see Cera, all this guy would have to do is pull the trigger one time.

Noran felt the comforting cold steel of a handgun barrel on his forehead...he couldnt wait, for sweet relief from the pain of this world.

But instead of a gunshot, he got a smack right between the eyes with the grip of the pistol, knocking him out cold.

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"Move guys! Up that hill! Take out this installation!" Sky yelled charging over the gunshots of the battles of the other squads taking the base.

They got to the top of the hill, where they found two dead soldiers and one covered in blood, obviously dazed

Griffin drew his pistol and put it to the dragons forehead.

"Griffin no! Dont kill that one! He has valuable intel that Spyro said we need. Knock him out and tie him up, he's coming with us!" Sky said stopping griffin just in time

"Damnit...fine" Griffin knocked the green dragon out and tied his hands and feet together and continued with the fight.

"Python! We got a chopper trying to evac! take it down!" 

"I got it lads!" Python assembled his rocket launcher and got a lock on the helicopter as it began to pull away from the ground.

The rocket left a smoke trail as it struck the tail of the helicoter and it began to smoke and spin, slowly losing altitude until it slammed into the ground, bursting into flames.

"Light that chopper up! No survivors!" Blaze yelled, opening fire on the wreck, filling it with holes.

The fight wore on for hours, but the E.O.F. was finally overrun, and the outpost was claimed by Spyro's forces.

"So...what do we do with our prisoner?" Blaze asked. 

"Restrain him...he needs to be interrogated..." Sky said drawing his combat knife.

**Sorry this chap was shorter than the others, but I didnt want the wait to get too long. also, thinking about a new story. its in the works. peace!**


End file.
